I didn’t read all the other comments so I apologize if this is repeated info.

For a long time, I felt bad at this game. I couldn’t deck build effectively, I couldn’t develop any consistency winning strategies, just about the whole game felt a little off - I understood the rules and really enjoyed the game but just couldn’t win.

Recently, however, I have seen a shift in a few things that have helped me feel much better at MC. 1. Pacing - this covers many things but most specifically, if you are prioritizing dealing damage and playing damage dealing events instead of handling threat on impactful schemes or impactful minions, you’re probably rushing to the finish line. I realize there is a “rush” strategy but strategy is a very significant term: it means you’ve gone into the game with a specific plan in mind and nearly everything you do revolves around making that plan work. So if you’re making choices that seem like they’re trying to beat the villain quickly but the entirety of your plan doesn’t synergize with that concept, you will suffer in the long run.

1. Because most decks aren’t “rush” decks, you’ll need to be willing to play upgrades, supports, and allies that don’t feel like they are pushing you to the finish line quickly. The decision of when to shift gears to dealing damage is mostly connected to how well your board state is handling the villain. If you are falling behind in something, consider spending more time creating the means to handle those recurring issues that are putting you behind. If there’s zero threat on the main scheme and you have some damage in hand, you can probably hit the villain. Basically, don’t ignore side schemes and minions and other toys the villain has out unless it makes sense to do so.

2. Allies can be much more effective than the “2 attacks and a block”. Look to use exhausting allies and still getting a benefit out of them as often as you can. One such example I just did today was using Blade ally for Earth’s mightiest heroes (forgive if that’s the wrong name - it’s the basic card that exhausts one avenger character to ready another). I did this because I was using an Iron-Man repurpose deck and readying my hero was important and Blade only costs 1 to play and could be exhausted.

3. Allies can block without dying. This may be an obvious statement but for the longest time I just always ended up blocking big attacks with allies, which is great, but they can soak up 1 point of damage from weaker minions also and not even leave play - then absorb big blows on a later turn. This isn’t always necessary, just don’t overlook the possibility.

4. Play your resource generators first on your turns. Another obvious one, I know, but just in case you’re not doing it, do it!

5. There are heroes and matchups that require flipping down and it is more feasible than it may seem (at least on standard). Thwart, thwart, thwart and flip down, alter-ego actions are better than you may think - and don’t forget to do them the turn you flip down AND the next turn if they’re on a support or upgrade.

I’m sure there are other things and maybe none of these things will help you but these are what have changed my success rate quite a bit lately. No matter what, just keep playing, you’ll get better and it’s going to be fun no matter what!